Who to root for if you can't stand the Seahawks and 49ers.

Next Sunday, two of the NFL’s most polarizing teams — the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks — will meet in the NFC championship. Unless you’re a fan of either franchise, it’ll be tough to root for either team. Do you favor the talented, mouthy, chippy NFC West team with an efficient offense, monster defense and stereotypically obnoxious fanbase? Or do you go the other way and root for the other talented, mouthy, chippy NFC West team with an efficient offense, monster defense and stereotypically obnoxious fanbase?

We’re here to help. For The Win examines the three most unlikable parts of both NFC championship teams and tries to come up with a rooting interest in spite of all of them.

San Francisco 49ers

3. Colin Kaepernick

(Getty Images)

Why to dislike him: Even Terrell Owens would think Kaepernicking is too self-indulgent.

Why to like him: When the quarterback gets into the open field and strides toward the first down marker like a gazelle, football is rarely more exiting. Also, how can you dislike a guy who does this?

Why to dislike it: The Niners engage in more extracurriculars than your standard high-schooler trying to pad his college application. Late hits, pregame jawing, touchdown preening and post-play chippiness are the norm in San Francisco. It gets old. You’re not the 1974 Raiders. Just play, baby.

Why to like it: There’s nothing better than a villain. Both Seattle and San Francisco are fun to hate. Sure, you can dislike the Patriots or Peyton Manning, but they don’t give you too many reasons to do so, other than being great and not saying much at press conferences. The Niners and Seahawks embrace their roles. This is excellent and a much-needed development in a league that had threatened to become too vanilla.

1. Jim Harbaugh

(USA TODAY Sports)

Why to dislike him: Jim Harbaugh is a hothead. He whines to refs like he’s playing point guard for Mike Krzyzewski (or like he is Mike Krzyzewski). He keeps that Sharpie around his neck like a doofus. He’s loud, brash and has no postgame decorum. He wears turtlenecks tucked into pleated khakis. If Johnny from The Karate Kid were an NFL coach, he’d be Jim Harbaugh.

Why to like him: He’s exactly like Jim Schwartz, only with discipline and success. Harbaugh is the first coach to ever take a team to a conference championship in his first three years as coach. If he doesn’t win a Super Bowl this year, it’ll only be a matter of time until he does. For all his foibles, you get the sense that Harbaugh is presenting his genuine self. He doesn’t care one iota what you think about him. You might not like him, but you have to respect him.

Seattle Seahawks

3. Pete Carroll

Why to dislike him: He whoops it up like he’s coaching JV football.

Why to like him: He whoops it up like he’s coaching JV football.

2. Richard Sherman

(@R_Sherman25)

Why to dislike him: Sherman is a mouthy self-promoter who thinks it’s okay to talk smack to a three-time Super Bowl winner like Tom Brady.

Why to like him: He’s smart, funny and, most importantly, a phenomenal football player. You’re allowed to talk as much trash as you want when you can back it up.

1. The 12th man

(Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Why to dislike them: Congratulations, you’ve made CenturyLink Stadium loud. The fanbase of a minor-league roller hockey team could get the noise up to 100 db in that aluminum shoebox. It’s cool that the team retired the number 12 in 1984. It’s less cool when you realize they did it because there was no one else’s number to retire from a team that was outscored by more than 500 points in its first eight seasons.

Why to like them: If you lived in Seattle, you’d be a Seahawks fan too and you’d want nothing more than to be at CenturyLink Field next Sunday night, screaming at the top of your lungs in hopes of getting the 49ers to false start. The stadium acoustics help, but the fans are quite loud on their own. They deserve the hype.

The verdict

There’s a lot to like and a lot to dislike about both teams. Even if you don’t pick a team, the good news is that the NFC is guaranteed a worthy Super Bowl participant no matter who wins. There will be a great defense, fun offense with a young quarterback and great storylines and soundbites representing the NFC West. But if you still need a rooting interest, pull for Seattle. San Francisco was on the biggest stage last year and has multiple Lombardi trophies. Let’s give Seattle a chance to bring the championship to the Pacific Northwest.

Live from Seattle, it’s the Insuffera-Bowl. Next Sunday, two of the NFL’s most polarizing teams — the San Francisco 49ers (…)

I found this on FTW and wanted to share:
%link%
For more great sports stories ...
*visit For The Win: https://www.ftw.usatoday.com
*follow @ForTheWin: https://www.twitter.com/forthewin
*like FTW on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usatodayftw